Isabel Zabini and the Duality of Wands
by fanfic4321
Summary: When Isabel Zabini recieves her letter to Hogwarts, she is thrust into an adventure filled with old legends, new allies, and a revelation about her friends that will change the history of wizardry forever. Her courage will be tested soon: Voldemort's back
1. Chapter 1

"The owls are coming, the owls are coming!" Isabel Zabini ran outside of her house, her black hair waving in the wind as she pointed towards the two tawny owls flying towards Godric's Hollow. Her good friend, Katrina Wood rushed outside to greet the owls too. Isabel and Katrina were both eleven years old, and had always dreamt of going to Hogwarts. Although the two girls' parents did not get along very well, their children were the best of friends. Almost simultaneously, Isabel and Katrina grabbed an envelope from an owl's talon. Isabel was the first to open hers, as she greedily tore open the paper, accidentally tearing the actual letter. Katrina neatly ripped the edges, and read the inside letter quickly.

HOGWARTS SCHOOL

_of_ WITCHCRAFT _and _WIZARDRY

Headmistress: Minerva McGonagall

Dear Miss Wood,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Susan Bones

_Deputy Headmistress_

The two girls grinned widely as they read through the note and supply list, and agreed to go to Diagon Alley together that very day (if their parents allowed them). After getting their parent's approval, the two families went to Diagon Alley by Floo Powder. Katrina didn't mind the travel, she had done it many times, but the Zabinis were less than comfortable. "It's so dirty, Katrina! Look, even Willy's coughing," Isabel groaned, pointing to her house elf.

"You're just not used to it, that's all," Katrina replied, brushing dust off her long blond hair. "Come on; let's go to Flourish and Blotts."

"Wait," Isabel stopped her friend, and turned to her father. "Dad?"

Blaise Zabini looked down at his daughter after gazing at the latest racing broom. "Hmm?"

"Can Katrina and I go shopping alone? And can I have my Gringotts Key?" Isabel asked.

"Here. Take Willy with you, he can hold your purchases. Have fun," Mr. Zabini pushed Willy towards his daughter. Katrina grimaced. She did not like Izzy's father's cruelty to house elves. "To Gringotts?" Izzy asked.

"To Gringotts," Katrina replied.

After getting their money, the two girls walked down Diagon Alley, and first went to Madam Malkin's shop after Isabel convinced Katrina not to go to Flourish and Blotts first. When they entered, they saw two boys about their age on stools, with assistants sticking pins into the hems of the robes. One boy was tall, with green-blue eyes and light brown hair, and the other had darker brown hair, was shorter, and had striking light blue eyes. The second boy seemed rather mischievous, from the suspicious grin on his face. The taller one seemed to know also, and frequently watched his back. Madam Malkin quickly ushered in Isabel and Katrina, set the girls onto stools, and began measuring them. "Hi," the mischievous-looking boy said to Isabel, "I'm Danny Finnigan, and this is Alec. We're brothers." Isabel thought she heard Alec say "Unfortunately," but decided to ignore his comment.

"I'm Isabel Zambini, and this is Katrina Wood."

"Wait…" Danny paused for a moment. "Oliver Wood's the starting Keeper for that Quidditch team… are you related?"

"Yes, he's my dad. Will this be your first year of Hogwarts, too?" Katrina asked.

"Yeah, it's really exciting. Danny wants to be in Slytherin, crazy, isn't it? He says that green looks good on him and that it will make the girls think he's hot. Nice reason to want to be in a house," Alec added sarcastically, "Personally, I want to be in Gryffindor, but Ravenclaw wouldn't be too bad either,"

"Come on, Slytherin's the coolest!" Izzy argued back.

"No way. My dad and mom were both in Gryffindor. That house is the best," Katrina stated.

"Let's stop or else we'll become enemies before the school year even starts," Danny smiled as he hit his brother, making the assistant who was hemming Alec's robe accidentally stick a pin in Alec's arm. The boy yelped as it dug into his skin.

Isabel had a plan. "How about we make a pact to be friends, no matter what house we get into, okay?"

After the four new friends paid for their robes, Isabel sent Willy back to her parents. Alec, Danny, Isabel and Katrina bought their pewter cauldrons, crystal phials, scales, and each a telescope for their Potions and Astronomy classes. Isabel enjoyed the Finnigans' company; Danny was very funny, and Alec was friendly to both of the girls, even though he was not so courteous to his brother. Finally, much to Katrina's delight, they stopped at Flourish and Blotts. Danny yawned jokingly as he pretended to pore over his new spell books as Katrina decided to buy much more books than necessary, half of the extra ones about Quidditch. Alec shook his head. His friend had definitely inherited her father's love for the sport.

"We need to get pets!" Danny cried as he helped Katrina carry all of her books out of the book store. "And wands." Alec added, and brought four carts, putting his cauldron and other items on top of it. Isabel walked over to the shop across the street which held owls, cats, toads, and many other creatures. Alec looked at many owls, before deciding that he wanted a brown one that was rather quiet. He named his new pet Topaz, as Katrina named her new snowy owl Pearl. Isabel wanted an owl too, and chose one black as night, which she called Spero. As the three left the shop, they saw Danny waiting for them with an orange cat cradled in his arms called Chester. The little cat clawed at the air as his new master put him in a cage. "Now," he said as he struggled with Chester, "Wands."

Ollivander sat in the back room of his shop, fiddling with the handles of two cherry wands when he sensed a strange feeling in the air. Yes, something was going to be very interesting about the four customers in his shop, yes. Something very interesting. "Curious…" the old shopkeeper muttered as he went towards the entrance to his shop.

Danny gasped as he saw Ollivander appear all of a sudden, and quickly stepped forward. "Daniel Finnigan, eh? It seems just like yesterday your father came in here to get his very first wand. Oak, unicorn hair, eleven inches. Quite temperamental. Let me see, what wand to get you?"

Ollivander took out a box and held out a wand to his customer. "Pine, dragon heartstring, ten inches. Brittle, I must say," he said as Danny waved it towards a lamp, instantly shattering it. "Perhaps too brittle," the wand maker muttered as he got another wand. "Blackwood, phoenix feather, 10 ¼ inches. Light." The boy knocked over Ollivander's desk with his new wand. After two more tries, Ollivander gave Danny another wand. "Oak, dragon heartstring, 9 ¾ inches. It has quite a long handle." Danny felt a warming sensation in his hand, and nodded to Ollivander. After his new wand was packaged, Danny sat down next to Isabel.

Alec was next. Unlike Ollivander's talkativeness with Danny, the shopkeeper was strangely silent. He gave Danny's twin brother a wand, saying, "Oak, unicorn hair, 11 ½ inches." The wand immediately flew out of Alec's hand. "Curious," Ollivander repeated, and shakily handed the boy a new wand. "Cherry, phoenix feather, 9 ½ inches." The cherry wand glowed brightly, sending red sparks at its point. Alec yelled and dropped the wand, clutching his burnt hand. Ollivander quickly healed the boy and gave him his wand, and pondered over many things.

Katrina stepped towards the wand maker's desk. "Miss Wood, here is your wand," Ollivander bowed slightly as he presented Katrina's wand. He swallowed quickly, and said, "Cherry, phoenix feather… 10 ½ inches." Alec looked down at his wand curiously as Katrina's wand sent out red sparks, and glowed as bright as his wand had. Katrina frowned as her hand turned extremely cold, and gasped when she saw that her hand was frozen in ice; stuck to her wand. "Mr. Ollivander, sir…" "Oh, no problem, my dear." Ollivander waved his wand and the girl's hand felt much better. "It was quite easy to match a wand with you. You see, when a wand is a perfect match to its new owner, it tends to… overreact. That explains your injuries Mr. Finnigan, and Miss Wood."

Isabel saw from Katrina's face that she was very pleased that her wand was a "perfect match," while Alec looked skeptically at the wand maker. Excited to get a wand of her own, Isabel stood up. "Miss Zambini, your turn is next. Redwood, unicorn hair, eight inches. I made this one two days ago," Ollivander said and cringed as a window was destroyed by Izzy's wand. The shopkeeper tried six more times, each wand destroying his shop more, until he found the one for Isabel. "Pine, unicorn hair, eleven inches." Isabel felt her wand warm with pleasure, and gave it back to the wand maker. "Thank you, sir," she said as he handed her a box with the pine wand inside. "Now remember, magic can be dangerous, Mr. Alec Finnigan. There are wizards who have been consumed by Dark Magic and they are very skilled at it. Someday, if you hesitate to fight back, something that you love will be lost." Alec nodded, although he was puzzled, almost scared, about Ollivander's strange advice. He left the shop quickly with his new friends following.

"That was creepy," Danny said as he closed the door. "Slightly," Katrina replied, looking at Alec curiously. "Oh well," Isabel interjected, annoyed at her friends seriousness, "It's almost dark! Time flew, didn't it?"

"We better get home soon. It was nice meeting you Izzy, Katrina. See you at the train!" Alec smiled as he waved goodbye, and the twins turned away. Isabel sighed. "We should leave too. Come on, let's go."

The two girls left for their parents whom they found arguing with each other with Willy in the middle covering his large ears and moaning. As Isabel and Katrina stepped towards them, both the Woods and the Zambinis stopped immediately. They went back home by Floo powder once more, and landed in the Woods' chimney. "See you later, Iz," Katrina said as her neighbor went back home. "We're going to Hogwarts in three days!" Isabel replied excitedly, and grinned as she imagined the great times she would have at the magical school.

At the Finnigan's house, Alec read his very old book of wand lore. The study had always fascinated him, yet he had never heard of "perfect matches" of wands to people. And frankly, Alec did not trust Ollivander very much. After going through his book twice, the boy could not find any reference to what Ollivander described, yet found a chapter that told of wizards' and witches' hands suffering strange curses when they received a wand. Alec quickly turned to the chapter, and finally was satisfied. _During the occurrence that a magical being (human) receives pain from a wand, usually burning of the hand, it is assumed that the wand has belonged to a former master, usually one of great power. The attachment to the old owner is so great, the wand releases large amounts of energy, often harming the holder, and then allows itself to be the wand of a new owner. Occurrences such as this are extremely rare, and even the wisest witches and wizards do not fully understand this._

Alec set down the old book, sighing. His wand used to be in the possession of a great wizard or witch, he knew that for sure. Yet why would Ollivander lie to Katrina and him? Surely it wouldn't hurt to tell them the truth. Alec stared at his wand curiously. Who had it belonged to? Why was he the one who deserved to carry it? Many questions filled the boy's head, giving him a terrible headache. Tired from the late hour, Alec went to his bed, and finally fell asleep.


	2. Chapter 2

Isabel woke up very early on September 1st, and in her nervousness about going to Hogwarts that day quickly tripped over her trunk that she had put at the end of her bed the night before. Quickly getting up, she ran downstairs, out the door, and knocked on Katrina's door for a full minute before it was opened by a very tired and yawning Oliver Wood. "Good morning, Mr. Wood! Is Katrina awake yet? IT'S SEPTEMBER FIRST!"

"Yes, she's very excited and didn't get any sleep; I'll get her." Then he closed the door to find Katrina. After waiting four minutes, Isabel got tired of being outside and let herself in the Wood's house and walked right into Katrina who was about to open the door.

"Hi Izzy…guess you woke up early too?"

"Yup! So who's gonna drive us to school? My dad said something about refusing to be in the same car as a muggle loving moron…so we're either going to go with your Dad or mine"

"Let's go with your Dad...I don't want hundreds of fan girls to try to be friends with me because of him."

"Okay, oh my God, I just remembered, where are we meeting Danny and Alec? We don't know anyone else, and I really want to get a compartment with them on the train."

After calling the Finnigans and agreeing to meet them at the platform before going through the barrier, Isabel and Katrina both went inside their houses to get ready for their first day.

**Three Hours Later (or 8 AM/ a reasonable hour)**

Isabel walked down her stairs and heard a loud thumping noise outside, so being the curious person that she was, she opened the door and saw Katrina dragging her trunk from her house to the Zambini house. Laughing, she called out, "Hey Kat, do you want any help with that? You kind of look like your trying, and failing, to run away…with both of your parents watching you."

"Yeah some help would kind of be helpful, seeing as everyone else is just watching me! And don't call me Kat!" Isabel just laughed and walked casually over to her and picked up the other end of the trunk, and after many times dropping the trunk on each other's feet causing Katrina to become quite annoyed, they both eventually gave up and called Katrina's dad, who picked it up one handed and walked over to Isabel's house and dropped it off in their front hallway. Then he turned to say goodbye to Isabel and Katrina.

"Okay, this will be both of your first time away this far from home for such a prolonged period of time, so I want both of you to watch out for each other. If any boy gives either of you trouble, just write a letter to me and send it with either Spero or Pearl, and I'll come over and beat him up for you, even though knowing you two he wouldn't live long. I'll miss you both, and even though you're not my daughter, Isabel, both of you are required to write at LEAST once a week, including tonight after you find out what houses you'll be in, no matter how obvious it is." After giving them both hugs, he walked out the front door and walked back into his house just as Blaise Zambini walked downstairs. After much yawning he brought both of their trunks and put them in the trunk of his car, which was on loan from the Ministry because he thought they were 'Muggle Death Traps' that cost more, and caused more trouble then they were worth, and would be ashamed to own one. After he ate a very large breakfast he finally walked outside and followed the anxious girls into the car.

The entire car ride to the train station was filled with the girls asking Blaise questions about Hogwarts and after each answer nervously talking to each other about what he had just said.

"Dad, do the houses hate each other? What if me and Katrina are in different houses?! She's my best friend!"

"Uhm…honey, I'm sure everything will work out fine, and yes Gryffindor and Slytherin…okay EVERYONE and Slytherin hate each other, but that won't come between you and Katrina." After hearing that answer, the girls looked nervously at each other, then promptly started promising each other that they wouldn't let house rivalry get between them.

After an hour long car ride, they FINALLY arrived at King's Cross station, where they got a cart and followed Blaise up to the wall in between platforms 9 and 10. He was about to tell them to go inside when Isabel said, "Wait! Dad, we're waiting for Alec and Danny!"

Having never heard of them, and as a father being overly protective and concerned he said, "Who are Alec and Danny?"

"Our friends that we met when we were shopping at Diagon Alley! They're really nice…Oh! I see them! Dad, you can go now." Isabel knew how much her Dad had hated their father, and she wanted him to leave before he started a scene that would embarrass all of them. Thankfully, he just hugged her and Katrina who grimaced (Katrina wasn't too fond of hugs) and left. They then ran over to Alec, Danny, their Dad, and their Mom. Katrina, being the more outgoing and polite one spoke first.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Finnigan, I'm Katrina Wood, and this is my friend Isabel Zabini. We met Alec and Danny a few days ago at Diagon Alley, and we agreed to meet to ride to Hogwarts together."

Seamus was slightly concerned upon hearing Isabel's surname, because her father had tormented him relentlessly at school, and so he was not very sure if he wanted his sons to spend time with her.

"Zabini…are you related to Blaise Zabini?"

"Yes, sir, he's my father."

"And your friends with a Wood?" Alec nudged his father in annoyance, this wasn't going as he hoped it would.

"Yup, she's my best friend, and I've known her my entire life, our fathers finally got past their hatred, and let us spend time together."

"So, I guess you'll be in Slytherin?"

"I think so, but I'm not going to let house rivalry come between me and Katrina, or me and your sons, if you're worried about that." After that she, Katrina, Alec, and Danny left the Finnigans and took off into a run heading straight for the border between them and platform 9 ¾. Alec, Katrina and Danny were running for it like their lives depended on it, while Isabel ran towards it more hesitantly and screamed the second she should have hit the wall. Instead she opened her eyes and saw that she had come out in the Wizarding world, and that her owls had been thoroughly shaken by being a second away from what should have been its death, or a severe injury. Katrina and Alec snickered slightly as everybody inside the platform stared at Isabel who glared at the two. Alec was suddenly running the opposite direction and Danny closely followed. Confused, Isabel went over to where she found Alec and Danny meeting up with some of their old friends. Alec motioned them over and introduced them.

"Isabel, Katrina, these are some of our old friends from when we went to a camp for wizards. This is Thomas, Alexandria, Arjun, and Julia." He motioned to each of them when he said their names, and they could tell he slightly blushed when he said Julia's name, while Danny glared at him and Katrina's blue eyes twinkled in amusement. Isabel watched as her friend's eyes gradually turned back to their normal grey, and turned to study Danny's friends. Thomas was a short, thin blond boy who looked rather mousy, Alexandria, a black girl next to him, was also short, and had a quill in her hair, Arjun, an Indian boy who was about Katrina's height, and Julia was very beautiful with brown hair and hazel eyes.

Everyone said hi, and then quickly got onto the train since they didn't want to be stuck at the station with no way to get to Hogwarts. Since there were too many people to fit into one compartment they decided to split up into three groups. Group one was Isabel and Katrina, group two was Alec, Arjun, and Julia, and group three was Danny, Thomas, and Alexandria. After five minutes everyone realized that the third group was not such a good idea after hearing loud screams and crashes caused by Danny and Thomas doing something dangerous and stupid, so Julia and Thomas switched groups.

Isabel and Katrina were nervously sitting in silence while waiting for the sign that they should change for Hogwarts when they heard a knock on their door, Isabel got up and opened it, and when she saw the guy standing on the other side of the door she almost fainted.

It was Draco Malfoy's only son, Scorpius. At eleven he was already a heart throb and had a large amount of money in his savings courtesy of his father and mother. He calmly looked inside, and took notice of Isabel's star-struck appearance, and Katrina's strangely annoyed appearance and spoke.

"Hi, I'm Scorpius. Normally I wouldn't walk into some random person's compartment, but the group I was with were so abysmally dull and annoying, so I had to leave. Can I hide out in here? They're going to look for me, and when they find me I'll have to listen to a lecture about not running off." After he finished his rant, he flashed them both the signature "Malfoy smirk," and Isabel just nodded while Katrina snorted slightly and after an hour, went into Danny, Arjun, and Alec's compartment.

After many snacks and a lot of getting to know each other, Izzy kicked Scorpius out of her room to change and Katrina ran in the compartment, not eager to change with the three boys. She told of how she and Arjun were planning on tricking the two Finnigan twins later that year, and asked how Izzy's time was. She was soon listening to a long speech about how perfect Scorpius was.

At the end of Isabel's long rant, Katrina said, "So, you like Scorpius, I guess?"

"Yeah…he's just so hot, and nice, and…yeah"

"Well we've got to get dressed, and I can already see the castle!"

"It's…HUGE! I'm going to get so lost, and fall down the stairs, and and and…something bad will happen to me and they'll never be able to find my body in time because it's too big!" Katrina's response was to just roll her eyes and look at the castle that was going to be their home away from home. She wished silently that her friend got better taste in guys as their time at Hogwarts would go on.


	3. Chapter 3

The train finally stopped and blew its whistle loudly. Katrina quickly exited the compartment and looked around at other students eager to leave the train. "Wait Katrina, I need to put on my sock!" Isabel groaned as her friend left the compartment. Why was she always in a hurry? Katrina was very much like her father; no one would stop her from seeing the castle first. Anyways, her friend was getting cranky; whenever Katrina was nervous, she would get quite moody. Isabel stood up and walked out of the compartment to find Scorpious smirking at her. Her heart skipped a beat as he closed the compartment door behind her. "So… your parents were Slytherins?" the boy asked her with a glimmer in his eye. Isabel nodded quickly. "Good. We'll probably be in the same house then," Scorpious continued.

The two continued talking, and Isabel started to wonder if Draco Malfoy's son ever stopped smiling. In the meanwhile, Danny was busy talking to Julia. "Who knows, we might be in the same house, Julia! We would have so much fun playing tricks on Alec, doesn't that sound good?" The younger twin looked at her hopefully. Her brown hair was blowing gently in the breeze as they were walking towards the castle, and he was pretty sure he was looking his best as he strutted towards the boat. Alec glared at his brother. Julia was too good for Danny; he could tell that she thought Danny was stupid. Or was it his imagination… He shook his head in frustration as Julia smiled at his brother fondly, and wrapped her arm around his shoulders. "You like her, don't you?" Alec turned around in shock. Katrina was walking behind him, her face was set in an amused look, her green eyes were twinkling. Alec paused for a moment; what color were her eyes? He could have sworn that Kat's eyes were grey at Diagon Alley. "Seems like your brother has fallen for her as well," Katrina mused.

"It's that obvious? I thought I was doing a good job hiding it."

"Well, based on the way you blush whenever she comes around, how you get angry when Danny gets near her, yeah, it's pretty obvious," Katrina laughed as Alec bit his lip nervously.

"First years, follow me!" Rubeus Hagrid led about forty first years to the boats in which three students jumped in each boat, and paddled towards Hogwarts. Alec rushed forward to be in Julia and Danny's boat, leaving Katrina behind. The girl sighed, and sat with Alexandria. During their boat ride to the school, the two girls became friends and excitedly talked about classes they would take, and what house they would be in. "I hope I'm in Ravenclaw, but my mom was in Slytherin," Alexandria said.

"It sure seems like a lot of people want to be in Slytherin…" Katrina's eyes widened. "Hopefully there will be some Gryffindors other than me and that Alec Finnigan. He seems like something is bothering him all the time, and the kid kind of annoys me sometimes with his serious crush on Julia. Let's see who Julia chooses out of the two twins," Katrina said, rolling her eyes. The girls giggled, imagining both of the Finnigans proposing to Julia at the same time. "Hopefully I won't act like an idiot if I find a good guy," Katrina continued as Alexandria grinned.

The first years finally reached Hogwarts and quickly went inside to avoid being in the cold any longer. Isabel, eager to see her new home rushed up many marble stair cases with her friends, and was stopped by a friendly-looking red-head witch. Izzy assumed it was Susan Bones, the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts. "Welcome to Hogwarts. In a few minutes, you all will be sorted into four houses: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Each house will be like your family. You will go to the same classes, eat together, and work together. There are many rules at Hogwarts; abide by them and you will win points for your house, break them, and you will lose points. Whichever house has the greatest amount of points at the end of the year wins the House Cup."

Isabel's heart pounded in excitement. When would the sorting begin? As if she was reading Izzy's mind, Professor Bones announced that it was time to enter the Great Hall. The doors opened and everybody gasped in unison. Candles hung from the ceiling which took the form of a night sky. "Illusions," Alexandria heard Katrina mutter, and grinned at her friend's wisdom. Alec sighed when he heard Katrina's voice. He remembered the conversation they had at the lake about Julia. Kat seemed to know everything that he was thinking! Did she...? Katrina kicked Alec gently, and walked on. She grinned to herself as she looked back at the boy's confused face. At the front of the hall sat many teachers, each staring at the students curiously. And at the foot of the stairs was a hat.

Danny almost fell asleep while the Sorting Hat sang its very long song, until Alec snuck up behind his brother and pinched him very sharply, making Danny jump. "The Sorting is starting, idiot! If you don't want to make a fool of yourself as you usually do, wake up!" Alec hissed.

"Ackerly, Julia!" Julia nervously walked up to the stool, and sat down quickly. Professor Bones had barely set the hat on her head when it shouted, "HUFFLEPUFF!" The two Finnigan brothers sighed in unison. "Beason, Matthew!" A boy jumped up the stairs and sat down, eagerly waiting for the hat's verdict. "RAVENCLAW!" The many Ravenclaws applauded for Matthew as he sat down. "Bimms, Marissa!" "RAVENCLAW!"

Many first years followed; not a single Gryffindor had been chosen yet. "Finnigan, Alec!" Alec gulped, nervous, yet excited. He watched the hat in Susan Bones' hands, and felt it touch his head. "An interesting mind, extremely intelligent, yet very couragous... Better be… GRYFFINDOR!" Alec grinned happily. Gryffindor! Exactly what he was hoping for. He watched Danny get sorted into Slytherin, and shook his head. At least his brother wasn't in the same house as him.

"Hiest, Thomas!" The little blond boy ran up the stairs, and almost knocked down the chair. "HUFFLEPUFF!" Five more students took their turns, when it was finally Arjun's turn. "Jones-Patil, Arjun!" Danny watched his good friend sit down, hoping that he would be in Slytherin. "GRYFFINDOR!" Arjun winked at Alec and took a seat across from him. "Malfoy, Scorpious!" Scorpious strutted up the steps and sat down. Katrina rolled her eyes. _How Pathetic._ As soon as the Sorting Hat brushed his golden head, it yelled out "SLYTHERIN!" "Potter, Albus!" "GRYFFINDOR!"

Many more students got sorted, and Katrina was getting impatient. Arjun laughed at her obvious annoyance. Finally, Katrina's name was called. "Wood, Katrina!" Isabel grinned as she saw her best friend walk calmly up the steps, even though she knew Katrina was very nervous. A part of her wished that her friend was in Slytherin, but the other part said that she would probably be in Gryffindor. "GRYFFINDOR!" Isabel shrugged in disappointment as Katrina happily went to the Gryffindor table and sat next to Arjun and Alexandria. "Zabini, Isabel!" Izzy sat down, and smiled. She wasn't nervous at all. "SLYTHERIN!" Danny wolf-whistled as Izzy sat next to him. Alec slapped his head. His brother was always a flirt.

Professor McGonagall stood up, made the usual, boring announcements, and finally, food appeared on the student's plates. Danny sighed in relief. He was starving, even though he ordered fistfuls of Chocolate Frogs on the train. As he reached for some chicken wings, the Bloody Baron flew over the Slytherin table, splattering ghost blood on Danny's plate. "Pleasant. May I have some of that, too?" Isabel said sarcastically as she laughed at Danny's predicament. In the meanwhile, Katrina was talking to many Gryffindors who all seemed fun and nice to be around. "Hi, I'm James Potter. You're Katrina, right?" Katrina smiled at the 2nd year. "Yes, and this is Alexandria Shacklebolt, Arjun Jones-Patil and Alec Finnigan. Alexandria and Arjun are friends of mine." "Nice to meet you." Alec looked up from his plate of food and saw Katrina's corner of her mouth slide up into a slight smile. What was she thinking? He went back to brooding about Julia.

Once every student's belly was full of delicious chocolate cake and vanilla pudding, McGonagall excused the students, the prefects leading first years to their common rooms. A 5th year boy led the younger Gryffindors up the many flights of stairs until they stopped at a portrait of a fat lady in a silk, pink dress. "Password?"

"Baulderdash." The door opened slowly, revealing a huge room filled with sofas and tables, complete with a large fireplace. "Girls dorms are to the staircase to left, boys to the right. Enjoy yourselves."

Utterly exhausted from the long day, the first years went to their dorms and discovered that their belongings were already there. Thankful for the warm pajamas on her bed, Alexandria quickly changed and went underneath her covers, and then remembered that the first day of school was the next day. She quickly reviewed her schedule: First was Charms, then History of Magic, a break, lunch, another break! Alexandria grinned, but her smile faded. After break was Double Potions with the Slytherins. Great. She climbed in bed and looked over at Katrina who was packing her book bag and setting her clothes out for the next morning. Katrina stroked Pearl's feathers. The owl was happy with its new home, but was she? Katrina sighed. Isabel was in Slytherin and so was Danny. At least she had Alexandria, and Arjun seemed nice. Albus and Rose were also kind. But Alec confused her. It was obvious that he was smart and serious, but he was very strange to her; unlike any other person she had met. Alexandria watched Katrina run a hand through her hair as she climbed underneath the covers. "Good night."

"Night."


End file.
